Chocolate Making 101 - Ingredients & Other Supplies

+ Sugar

Sugar is not just to sweeten the chocolate. It's there to highlight and alter the overall flavour profile as well. It acts in a similar fashion as water does to espresso beans. Without the water, you're essentially chewing on roasted coffee beans. It's quite intense, and you miss a lot of the unique underlying aromas.
In chocolate sugar acts in a similar way. Yes, it adds sweetness (or in some cases simply reduces the "intensity"), but depending on how much you add (or the type you add) you do change the overall flavour profile of the chocolate. A chocolate made with a cocoa bean at 70% will taste different than a chocolate made with the same cocoa bean at 80%. It's not simply a shift in sweetness, it can often be a shift in flavour profile.

Below are some common sugars and their impacts:

Refined Sugar - Usually beet but may be cane sugar. Refined white sugar is neutral in flavour, and ideal for purists who only wish for the flavour of the bean to come through. Other sugars (unrefined, palm, coconut, etc.) will have strong flavours that will add to the flavour of the chocolate. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, but something to keep in mind depending on your flavour goals.

Unrefined Cane Sugar - The opposite of refined sugar. All the aromas and molasses from the sugar-cane process is left in the sugar. It tastes like brown sugar, with that strong molasses flavour, but without the sticky/tacky molasses texture which will "gum up" or reduce the flow/thicken your chocolate.

Raw Cane Sugar - Very close to refined sugar except for some residual aromas/molasses left behind during the process. Will impart a delicate (maybe not always noticeable) flavour to the chocolate.

Palm nectar Sugar - Similar to unrefined sugar but a very strong flavour, and even more "cooked" flavour than brown sugar. Your chocolate flavour will definitely be impacted by the flavour of the sugar which some may say masks some of the natural flavours of the chocolate.

Coconut sugar - Similar to unrefined sugar, perhaps with a stronger brown sugar flavour.

+ Sugars not to use

Brown Sugar (refined sugar with molasses added)

Powdered Sugar (Finely ground sugar with cornstarch added)

Generally any liquid/sticky non-crystalized sugar should be avoided. Once you master chocolate making and tempering, you can attempt to get creative and use some non-crystalized sugars or sweeteners.

+ Other Sweeteners

Date Sugar (strong flavour that will impact the flavour a great deal)

Maple Sugar

Monk Fruit Powder/Sugar

Stevia Powder.

Sugar alcohols & artificial sweeteners - used in moderation and at low amounts as they are often quite sweet. High levels can cause GI discomfort.

+ Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter will generally be required to have. Especially if you wish to make milk chocolate (the cocoa butter is necessary to fluidity) and white chocolate (which is based on cocoa butter). Most makers add 5% or more cocoa butter to most dark chocolate to improve flow and help with ease of tempering/pouring/casting.

There are two kinds of cocoa butter. Deodorized and non-deodorized. Deodorized cocoa butter means that the natural aromas of the cocoa were removed via steam distillation - so the flavour is very neutral and easy to add to anything.

Non-deodorized cocoa butter contains the natural aromas from the beans it was pressed from. This means depending on who manufactures the cocoa butter (and which beans they used) the flavours can change. So you may need to try a few before you find the cocoa butter you enjoy.

+ Milk Powder

Milk powder is used to make milk chocolate. We can't add liquid forms of milk since chocolate is a fat-based product, and the mixture will seize if liquid is added.

There are many types of milk powders, percentages, cow vs goat, and each brand will have its own unique taste. So take time to find ones that you enjoy the most.

Keep in mind that when you factor milk powder into your chocolate recipe, know that the milk particles will use up a great deal of the cocoa butter in the chocolate. Each particle requires the cocoa butter to coat it so that you have a uniform molten chocolate with good flow. Therefore, you will have to add much more additional cocoa butter to compensate for that.

+ Mylk Alternatives

Many people today are creating "milk chocolate" with alternatives to dairy milk, much like how one can find milk alternatives for coffee as well. Milk alternatives may not taste like dairy milk, but will offer a "lighter" version of the dark chocolate that is more mild and sometimes just as creamy depending on the ingredients.

I recommend grinding these into powders first if they are not already before adding into the melanger.

Oats make a great alternative. Some toast the oats beforehand for both flavour and safety (raw oats/flours can be an issue). Be aware some oat sources may contain traces of wheat flour depending on their processing facility, so you may want to seek out gluten-free oats if that is a concern.

Almonds and other nuts like macadamia offer a very creamy/milky texture and are a great milk alternative. Their flavour is light enough that it doesn't overpower the flavour of the beans. However, not an option for nut-free bars or facilities.

Coconut. Although offering a strong flavour, it is a great alternative to dairy milk both for flavour and for creamy texture.

Explore and thing about other grains/seeds/foods that could act as dairy milk does to tone down the intensity of the bean without masking the flavour too much. All milk alternative bars are essentially flavoured dark chocolate bars - but the goal is to use the ingredient as a way to replace the dairy milk in milk chocolate.

+ Fruits

Fruits can be added as an ingredient in the melanger, or as an inclusion sprinkled on top or mixed into the finished chocolate before pouring into bar shapes.

The drier the better. Freezedried fruits and powders are perfect for adding as an ingredient to the melanger. I would recommend grinding the freeze dried fruits into powders first, if they are not already, before adding to the melanger.

Traditionally dried fruits can work as well - the drier the better. But they will put a strain on the melanger (depending on the melanger size). So try and cut/grind them as fine as possible before adding to the melanger.

If adding as an inclusion in the bar (not just sprinkled on top), I recommend adding them after you temper the chocolate (and make sure they are about the same temperature as your chocolate before adding).

+ Spices & Herbs

Spices and herbs can be added as well, but keep in mind strong spices and flavours may be absorbed by the stones in the melanger, and may linger even after washing.

+ Extracts

Ensure that extracts are fat/oil based. Alcohol or other liquid based extracts or gels are not ideal to add into chocolate intended to be solid. Since chocolate is a fat-based product, ingredients should be dry (water-free) or fat-based. Alcohol or water-based extracts are fine for ganaches, but not for solid chocolate as it will interfere with flow/texture/tempering.

+ Be creative!

These are just some ideas of other ingredients to add. The sky is the limit! The types, flavours, styles of ingredients are all up to you. Be creative and be inventive!